One of the Guys
by Evil Icing
Summary: Just for a night, Chizuru decides to be one of the guys. A little bit of sake couldn't hurt, right?


A/N: I do not own Hakuouki! Rating is for alcohol usage and slight suggestive themes. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

It was a chilly spring night. Chizuru sighed, tossing in her sleep. She just couldn't stay asleep tonight. She always tried to go to bed early, as she loved waking up early to prepare breakfast for everyone in the Shinsengumi headquarters. She had grown to think of the many men she lived with as her family.

She changed out of her sleeping yukata and into her normal clothes before she decided to slowly slide open the door of her room. Perhaps she could find something to do, or someone to talk to until she began to feel tired. She quietly tiptoed through the hallways, following the faint sounds of voices she heard in the distance; she was glad that someone was still awake, at least. The closer she got to the voices, the more she recognized who the voices belonged to. She shouldn't have been surprised; she knew that far too often Nagakura, Harada, and Heisuke stayed up well into the night drinking and talking. She couldn't tell if any of the other captains were in the room as well, as she could only make out three voices. There was the loud voice of Shinpachi, the cheerful yet deep tones of Harada, and the young, higher-pitched sounds of Heisuke. Chizuru cleared her throat as she stood in front of the thin door before her where she knew the three were sitting. They all seemed to notice her presence, as they briefly stopped talking.

"Who is it?!" Shinpachi asked rather accusingly.

"Is that you, Saito?" Harada said almost immediately after Shinpachi.

"U-um," Chizuru whimpered, "I-it's only me, I'm sorry if I-"

The door immediately slid open in one swift movement as Heisuke quickly revealed Chizuru's form standing in the door way. "Chizuru!" he exclaimed excitedly, nearly tripping over himself. "What are you doing here? Come to hang with us?"

Chizuru gasped as Shinpachi came out of nowhere, wrapping a strong arm around her shoulders. "Yo, Chizuru! Man, am I glad to see you right now…" His speech sounded the most slurred out of the three men among her.

Heisuke only grinned, with rosy cheeks peering out from underneath his glossy eyes. Harada was still sitting on the floor, his eyes set on her with his normal passionate smile. He had yet to say much, but much to Chizuru's happiness, he appeared to be normal. That was good…she needed someone normal right now if she intended to deal with drunken Shinpachi and Heisuke. Something told her that neither of them would be letting her leave anytime soon now that she had joined them.

She walked a little closer to the three of them. "I couldn't sleep," she started with a timid smile.

"So you wanted some company, is that it?" Harada asked, slowly lifting himself to stand up. He walked closer to her, stopping just as he made it to where their toes were nearly touching as they faced each other. "Why don't you have a drink with us, Chizuru-chan?" His last words were quieter and his eyes a bit mischievous.

A blushing Chizuru jumped back a bit, surprised at how close Harada had been. The three men eyed her curiously before she could even reply.

"Yes, drink with us, Chizuru-chan!" Heisuke exclaimed as he lifted up the sake bottle he was holding into the air. "We'll have so much fun!"

Shinpachi laughed, slapping Harada playfully on the back. "Great idea, Sano! Come on, Chizuru! Let's do it, whaddaya say?"

Chizuru now noticed the slightly pink cheeks of Harada as he took another step closer to her, a wry smile on his face as he crossed his arms. "Pretty please?"

She had been around the men while they drank almost every single day since she had been living with the Shinsengumi, and that included some pretty drunk sessions. However, she had never been alone with them like this and seen them react to her in such a way. Sure, they flirted with her on a regular basis and constantly gave her compliments; hell, Okita even threatened and bullied her several times a day. But something about this seemed…different.

_What am I going to do?!_ Chizuru thought to herself. "I can't drink, you guys… you all know that. I'm sorry…"

"None of us will tell on you," Heisuke said with a smile. "No one has to know about it except the three of us in this room."

"There's four of us in here, you dumbass," Shinpachi retorted, grinning to the younger man. "See, you're already wasted and we haven't even started. That's why I always say drinking ain't for kids…"

"I ain't a kid, Shinpachi!" Heisuke growled as he raised his fist at him.

"Well, if that's the case, then I guess Chizuru is a kid too, huh Shinpachi?" Harada said with a slight laugh.

Shinpachi's eyes widened as he realized what he was saying. "Uhhh…forget I said that. It was a joke. Besides, Chizuru is more mature than Heisuke so it's okay."

"Why you…!"

Everyone stopped as they looked over to see Chizuru making a strange noise. Her hand was slightly over her mouth, trying to muffle the giggles she so wanted to let out. She couldn't help but snicker at the three; their little quarrels had always amused her. They teased each other like brothers, almost completely forgetting that Chizuru was even there…which was what they were arguing about in the first place.

"I'm glad you three are having a good time," Chizuru finally said with a smile. "A part of me almost wants to stay with you guys after all…"

Both Harada and Heisuke's eyes beamed, that was all they needed to hear.

"Every part of me wants you to stay, Chizuru…especially—" Shinpachi started to say before Heisuke tackled him to the floor. Their fight continued for a moment, them bickering like children on a playground.

Harada reached out his hand to Chizuru. "What do you say, Chizuru-chan? I promise I won't let anything happen to you." He winked at her.

Chizuru thought for a moment, almost hesitating. "W-well… I… maybe one drink, but that's all, okay?"

She took Harada's hand that he had offered her, and he led her to sit down at their table. She was amazed that any of them could even stand at this point…they seemed to have drank quite a bit judging from the many sake bottles on the table. She had only seen Harada slightly stagger once as he bent to sit down with her. Heisuke and Shinpachi joined them at the table as their brief skirmish ended. She noticed Heisuke's hair had come undone from the fighting, as he had almost sat on his hair as seated himself beside her.

"Alright, let's pour this cute girl some sake, whaddaya say?" Shinpachi said excitedly, searching for a sake bottle that wasn't already empty on the table.

"I'm kind of nervous," Chizuru said aloud, to no one in particular. She was smiling, but her worry was still obvious to see. She wasn't afraid of any of the guys, so much as she was afraid of someone finding out she was drinking with them. She wondered what Hijikata would do if he knew this was happening? She didn't even want to imagine the consequences. But nevertheless, she trusted them all. Sometimes they could be a little rough and perverted, particularly Shinpachi, but she knew that they all cared for her and looked out for her ever since she had known them.

However, she also knew that alcohol could turn even the kindest gentlemen into complete jerks.

She was brought back from her thoughts as she felt Harada patting her head gently. "Just trust us, little Chizuru. This isn't the first time we've ever drank…"

"And certainly ain't gonna be the last time either!" Shinpachi loudly added.

"…And we know how to control ourselves, we're not gonna hurt you or anything. You know that, right?"

Harada's kind smile was assuring, as it almost always was; he had that effect on people. Chizuru believed him, even if he had no idea what he was talking about right now.

"Okay, I-I'm ready, then," she said with a nod.

"Alright!" Heisuke happily cheered. "I'll pour us all a round, 'kay?"

Everyone reached for a sake cup as Heisuke prepared to pour. After spilling insignificant amounts of sake here and there, everyone's cup was filled.

"Ready, Chizuru-chan?" Harada asked her with a slight nudge. "Just drink it as quick as you can and don't think about it."

She gulped, looking around at their eager, blushed faces and then down at her cup. "R-right…"

And with that, everyone's cups were lifted to their lips. Chizuru did as Harada had instructed, trying to swallow as much as possible as it burned down her throat. It didn't taste as bad as she had expected it to taste, although it certainly wasn't her new favorite choice or anything. She dropped the sake cup as she choked for air. She grimaced. "Ugh…"

"How did it feel, Chizuru-chan?" Heisuke asked her, leaning close to her. She could feel his hot breath on her neck.

Harada leaned closer to her on her other side, eyeing her curiously. "I knew you could do it, see? Not so bad, huh?" He lazily put an arm around her.

She couldn't tell if she was blushing from the sake or from the immediate attention she was receiving as the three men around her invaded her personal space more than they probably ever had before. Shinpachi leaned over the table, reaching for her shoulders as he lightly shook her. "I'm so proud of you, Chizuru! Let's do another!"

Harada released his arm from her as he poured himself another cupful.

"Um, how much have you drank, Harada-san?" Chizuru asked quietly. "Have you drunk as much as Heisuke-kun and Nagakura-san?"

Harada looked to her. "Huh? I've drank twice as much as they have," he answered with a laugh. "Don't let me fool you, Chizuru."

"Yeah, I try so hard to out-drink Sano, but it never works out," Heisuke said with a frown. "He's pretty amazing."

Shinpachi dropped a fist into the table. "What about me, don't ya think I'm pretty amazing, too?!"

"No, Shinpachi, you're just drunk," Harada stated matter-of-factly.

They laughed, and Chizuru found herself laughing with them as they bantered back and forth with each other. She didn't know how, but somehow they had managed to talk her into another round with them, and then maybe another. She was scared to suddenly realize that she lost track of how much she had drunk with them. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire and she was sweating slightly, a fire burning through her muscles. She was happy that her first time drinking was with people she enjoyed being with like them, but she hated the fact that they were _much_ more experienced drinkers than she was. They were still walking around even now, fighting and teasing each other. She couldn't even imagine trying to stand.

She needed something to drink other than sake; some water would be nice. She attempted to lift herself from the floor, her legs hardly wanting to obey her. Once she stood, she felt herself falling.

"Whoa, take it easy," a voice whispered close to her face as she felt strong arms catch her. "This is your first time drinking, and you've already had quite a bit."

Chizuru glanced over to see Harada's face basically touching her own. He helped steady her to her feet, slightly chuckling at her. She could smell the sake on his breath as he laughed, making her feel even more intoxicated. She lunged for his chest.  
"May I…can I have some water, Harada-san?" she pleaded.

"Of course you can. Heisuke, can you pass us some water over here?"

Chizuru heard Heisuke return with some water, not quite handling his own legs very well. He plopped beside her and Harada, pushing the container to her lips. "Open wide, Chizuru…"

She blushed as she realized Heisuke was helping her drink, but was relieved as she felt the cool liquid in her mouth. Suddenly she felt much better, a cool, refreshing wave coming over her as she savored the liquid.

"Oh, shit," Heisuke said, quickly taking the container from her lips. "S-sorry, Chizuru… I spilled some water on you…sorry."

He quickly dropped the container to the floor as he reached for more sake, probably already forgetting what he was doing with it.

Harada frowned. "Alright, Heisuke. One more and then I think you'd better stop for the night…where's Shinpachi?"

"Can't you hear 'em snoring?" Heisuke replied with a chuckle, swallowing a cupful of sake afterwards.

Harada looked underneath the table to see Shinpachi passed out for the moment, stretched out on the floor. "Maybe I should just leave 'em there so I can take care of you, right, Chizuru-chan?"

Chizuru looked up at the sound of her name, noticing that Harada still had an arm around her supporting her weight. "I'm…I'm thinking I'm kind of sleepy now, too…"

She tried to resist letting her body go limp as she gently closed her eyes.

"Ch-Chizuru, I can't hold you—"

A sudden impact as she collapsed made her open her eyes again, and she realized that Harada must have had lost his balance as she went limp in his arms. Her eyes widened as she realized she was on top of him, her hands supporting herself on his chest. He looked much more surprised than she did as he looked at her, his eyes blinking with confusion and his face flushed with the rushing intoxication as the young girl laid on top of him. Chizuru continued to blush, a part of her not wanting to ever get up from the position she was in. They simply watched each other for a moment; she could hear and feel Harada's breathing from underneath her.

"H-Heisuke, can you help me out here?" he finally said, still not taking his widened eyes off of Chizuru. He waited. "Heisuke? Heisuke?"

Chizuru looked around her, most of her vision slightly blurred. She slightly groaned as moving her head around made her feel a little sick. She looked back into Harada's eyes, her lip quivering with confusion.

"Damn it, he must have passed out too…of all times…"

Harada sighed, and quickly closed his eyes, trying to ignore Chizuru's presence as he attempted to help them both up. A beautiful girl with wide eyes staring into him was not helping the situation.

"S-Sanosuke-san…"

Harada stopped as he heard Chizuru utter his name quietly, but he still heard her. Oh yes, he heard her. Hearing his name come from her sweet, innocent lips drove him crazy. However, he promised her he'd take care of her. He had to pull himself together, and fast.

He slowly pulled himself up slowly, barely being able to hold his own body up, let alone Chizuru's as well. She sighed as he jarred her from her position, and the she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck in fear of falling backwards.

"Chizuru…" he pleaded, trying to ignore her many touches she was inflicting on him, and instead trying to focus on adjusting both of their bodies back up. It was as if all at once, he felt the effects of all of tonight's sake.

He managed to finally sit up fully, balancing an arm on the edge of the table. Now Chizuru was straddling his lap, holding onto him desperately.

"Chizuru… please don't make me…"

She lifted her head to look at him, a slight smile present on her lips. She lightly moaned.

He pressed his lips onto hers, rougher than he meant to…he was no longer sober enough to control whether he would be gentle or harsh. _Damn…_

He felt Chizuru twitch as he kissed her, as she was now aware what was happening. He didn't feel her resist, which surprised him, but he knew himself well; he didn't feel like he was going to be backing down anytime soon. He couldn't. He deepened the kiss as he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, grinding her closer onto him. He moaned as she dug her fingernails into his skin; he wasn't sure if she was trying to get away or turn him on more.

He pushed her quickly onto her back as he fell on top of her now, nipping at her neck as she made noises of approval for every move he made on her. He moved a hand to cup her breast, his fingers annoyed at the clothing between their contact. He wanted to feel her. He traced his fingers along the lining of her fabric…

Chizuru blinked back to more consciousness as she felt something heavy fall on her after she heard a loud noise. She noticed apparently Harada had fallen completely on top of her. Was he asleep…?

After focusing her eyes a little more, she noticed a figure standing above her. Was that Nagakura-san…?

Shinpachi was holding a half-broken sake bottle in his hand, staggering as he dropped to one knee. "You're welcome… Sano…"

And with that, Chizuru closed her eyes again.

It had never been so hard for Harada to open his eyes. They felt so heavy as he lifted his eyelids, and then he stopped as he attempted to lift his head. A pain shot through his skull as he moved, making him grit his teeth in pain. "What…the hell?"

He reached to touch his head where it had been aching, and felt something wrapped around it tight.

"Don't move," a quiet voice instructed him sternly. "If you apply too much pressure, it will start bleeding again."

Harada looked up to see Saito standing above him, arms crossed indifferently.

"What did you do to me, Saito?" he hissed, reaching again to the aching spot on the back of his head.

Saito bent down to attempt to help him up. "I bandaged your head injury. When I came in here, everything was a mess."

"Ah, so it was Shinpachi that did this to me?"

"I would assume so, as he was the one passed out behind you when I came in. Heisuke was half-way under the table, and Chizuru…"

Saito stopped, looking away from him.

Harada's eyes widened at the mention of her name. Of course, he had almost forgot. Well, unfortunately, he hadn't…he always remembered a night's events no matter how much he drank. He remembered… he was on top Chizuru. That was the last thing he remembered.

"Chizuru-chan," he sighed, looking around the room slowly. He saw Heisuke on the floor, and he heard Shinpachi snoring somewhere behind him. No sign of Chizuru. "Where is she? Is she okay?"

"It is not yet dawn. You are lucky I came in here to sort out your messes before everyone else wakes up. Better me than Hijikata-san."

Saito's eyes narrowed as he said this, a stern look on his face.

"I didn't do anything to her," Harada stated coldly. He frowned. "Where is she?"

Saito hesitated for a moment and then said, "I carried her to her room. She appears to be fine…it's as you said."

Harada steadied himself as he started to head for the door.

Chizuru rubbed her eyes, feeling slightly drowsy as she yawned. "Where am I…?"

She felt her covers wrapped tightly around her as she sat up. She was in her room. That made sense. Right?

Wait a minute. She remembered drinking with the guys, didn't she? Wasn't she drinking sake last night? She couldn't quite remember everything…she remembered laughing with them, watching them fight one another. She remembered them invading her personal space, feeling the breath of Heisuke and Harada on her neck. She remembered falling and Harada catching her. She remembered she had been very close to him; the very thought made her blush. She hoped she hadn't caused too much trouble for them. She smiled as she realized they had at least carried her back to her room.

She was glad that everything was fine, or so it seemed. She knew everyone was probably still asleep; that would give her the chance to get some food started for everyone. _What an interesting night_, she chuckled to herself. She was happy she had survived her first sake experience.

As she headed towards the kitchen, she heard voices. Perhaps it was later than she thought it was. Someone was awake.

"Ouch! Do you have to be so rough?!" a voice echoed through the thin walls.

"You need to be still," a quieter voice was barely audible. "It appears to have started bleeding again."

"Thanks a lot for this, Shinpachi," the first voice said. "Although I guess I really should be thanking you. I owe you one."

A loud voice boomed with laughter. "Hell, I don't remember much, but I do remember knockin' you senseless!"

"You guys haven't fought like this in a long time," a new voice added to the conversation. "You need to stop drinking so much if it's only going to cause trouble." Chizuru's eyes widened as she recognized this voice as Hijikata's. Hopefully he still didn't know that Chizuru had been there last night, too…

She quickly slid the door open, looking intently at everyone in the room. "G-good morning, everyone! I'm so sorry… I think I overslept!"

Hijikata was taking a sip of his tea. Heisuke was half-asleep against the table, almost where she remembered him to be last night. Saito was gazing down at the table, not once had he turned to look at her. Shinpachi was grinning from ear to ear laughing at Harada. Her eyes widened as she noticed Harada had a bandage wrapped tightly around his head. He quickly turned to look at her as she entered.

"Chizuru-chan…good morning," he said with a pained smile.

"Harada-san!" she exclaimed, bringing a hand to cover her mouth. "Wh-what happened to you?"

Shinpachi only grinned as Harada sighed. Did she really not remember? That was good…or was it an act? "Well, I think Shinpachi decided to bash me in the head for out-drinking him as usual."

"Well, I'm certainly surprised you managed to injure Harada-san," a teasing, sarcastic voice said from behind her. She turned to see Okita as he walked past her to take a seat at the table. "Where's the food, Chizuru-chan?"

She gasped. "Oh! I'm sorry, everyone…please let me go take care of it. I'll make more tea, too, since I see someone has already made some."

She started to turn as Hijikata stopped her. "It's fine," he said. "Saito told me you had been sick last night. You don't have to prepare today's food."

She looked at him, confused. Saito had said she was sick? What did that mean? Saito shot her a quick glance, and then carefully looked away again.

She looked back to Hijikata and then smiled. "I'm fine now, I can still make the meal. Don't worry." She turned and quickly walked to the kitchen.

She noticed all the empty sake bottles from last night had been brought in here. Among the empty ones, she noticed a broken one stained with blood. Her eyes widened. Is that what had happened to Harada-san…? What really happened…?

"Chizuru," a voice surprised her as they entered.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. She lowered her voice, wanting to be as quiet as possible. "Harada-san! Wh-what happened, really? Did Shinpachi really hurt you? I don't remember that at all…"

Harada smiled gently as he walked closer to her. "I don't know what you do remember, but I wanted to talk to you."

She smiled. "Sure. Is everything okay? I'm really worried about you."

"I'm fine. I just…wanted to apologize to you."

She looked taken aback. "A-apologize? What for, Harada-san? You're the one who is hurt, not me."

He reached for her hands, making her blush slightly. "If Shinpachi hadn't bashed me on the head and knocked me out, I would've lost control of myself completely. I promised you I'd take care of you, and yet…"  
He stopped, his cheerful smile starting to fade. Chizuru still looked as confused as ever. "Um, I'm not sure what you mean…I really don't remember much."

"What? Really?" he asked in surprise. "You don't remember…the kiss?"

Chizuru blushed even further. "What? K-kiss?"

Was he trying to play a joke on her or tease her? He seemed sincere and completely serious right now, but she knew that the men in the Shinsengumi all loved teasing her. She touched her lips. A kiss…?

Harada looked slightly embarrassed himself, his cheeks turning a light pink. Even if she didn't remember, she had certainly kissed back. "Ah, so you really don't remember. I shouldn't have even said anything, right?" He chuckled. "Well, even if you don't remember it, Chizuru-chan, I still wanted to say sorry for everything I did to you last night."

He started to walk away as he gave her a quick wink. Now he just wanted to have some fun with her. Her face was so red by now that she was almost sweating.

"E-everything you did to me…?" she slowly whimpered to him, his back turned to her. "Harada-san…"

He seductively turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised as he watched her squirm in embarrassment. "Maybe I should give you a demonstration of last night's events so that you can remember it this time."

Suddenly, Chizuru felt drunk just like she remembered last night when she drank all that sake. Her eyes felt heavy as she slowly closed them. She had fainted.


End file.
